The invention relates to a pallet or platform for receiving freight, preferably airfreight for transport by air or for release from airplanes by means of parachutes, the pallet having a light core sandwiched between cover plates and enclosed all around by a shoulder strip.
Pallets of this kind have been known for various air transport systems in several sizes, e.g., 88 .times. 108 inches for a maximum load of 4 tons or 88 .times. 54 inches for a maximum load of 2 tons. However, the number of existing sizes is inadequate for providing a satisfactory pallet surface for each load size; thus, the only recourse is to join commercially available sizes securely together so as to obtain fairly large sizes of pallets. In so doing, one encounters considerable difficulties, for the joining area is subject to extraordinary stress occurring particularly when during the loading or unloading of airplane one-half of such a two-part pallet is under stress while in a freely overhanging position, for instance, under one of the aforesaid maximum loads or when considerable forces act upon the platform during the air transport.
In view of the above, it is necessary to use connecting pieces having extremely high load-bearing capacity and therefore requiring bulky as well as loose parts for securely connecting pallets and platforms. Moreover, airfreight pallets frequently exhibit specially shaped shoulder strips adapted to the particular air transport system. By way of example, System 463L of the U.S. Air Forcce requires pallets having a shoulder strip studded all around with spaced-apart connecting flange parts. To obtain a dependable bolted connection for joining pallets of varying sizes it is necessary, for example, to design the connecting flanges in such a manner that they can be unscrewed from the shoulder strip so that the adjacent shoulder strips of two pallets that are to be joined are flush with each other.
The primary object of the invention is to provide a pallet of the kind mentioned at the start of this application, which makes it possible to join pallets in a simple and dependable manner and wherein the kind of connection is usable in a wide range of applications.